Flyers Edge Penguins 3-2 On Craven Goal

After their 3-2 overtime victory last night over Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia Flyers found a new nickname for Murray Craven.

While Reggie Jackson was once "Mr. October" and Wayne Gretzky is just plain "Great," the Flyers' left winger has been christened "Mr. Overtime."

And why not?

Craven has scored 11 goals this season. Two have come during the Flyers' only overtime periods, tying them with Edmonton for the most points in the National Hockey League with a 26-9 record.

His goal against the New York Islanders earned the Flyers a 5-4 overtime win in the Spectrum on Nov. 17.

And last night he ended the sudden-death period in 2:12 with a score against the Pens before a sellout crowd of 17,211 in the Spectrum.

It handed the Pens (14-17-4) their 20th consecutive loss in Philadelphia, with their last previous win a 7-4 decision on Jan. 20, 1974.

"In overtime, it's sudden death," the 21-year-old Craven said astutely. "One goal is either going to make you a hero or a bum. But you don't want to get scored on. That's the worst thing you want to do.

"If you keep at them, and at them, eventually you get a break. That's what happened tonight. We didn't lay back, and we didn't play defensively. We took it to them in our building. When you're at home, you always want to win these overtime games."

Craven, obtained with Joe Paterson from Detroit early last season for Darryl Sittler, scored his second NHL overtime goal by taking the puck near the Pens' blue line.

He skated toward the right circle and slapped a shot. Pens' goalie Gilles Meloche, who had made 36 saves, let the puck bounce off his body and trickle over the goal line behind him.

The goal light flashed, and the Flyers hugged Craven, "Mr. Overtime."

"I just fired it at the net," Craven said. "There was not too much picking the corners. I just let it go.

"It was better than the one against the Islanders, which was a little bit fluky. This one was pretty satisfying.

"I think there may have been in a line change when I got the puck, because I looked over and four guys were coming off the bench trying to cut me off.

"The puck was dumped out, and our defenseman (Brad McCrimmon) was at it right away, dumping it back toward their boards on the right side. I just picked it up and shot."

The Flyers dominated the first period, but failed to score. They outshot the Penguins 15-6, but Meloche was perfect.

And when the veteran wasn't there, one of the posts was. That was the case when Rich Sutter slapped an open shot into the far post midway through the session.

"Meloche played a great game," said Flyers' Coach Mike Keenan. "It was a shame for him to lose after such a performance."

But then the Penguins emerged for their best period against Philadelphia this season. They outshot the Flyers 13-4, and when center Mario Lemieux scored his 20th goal, they had their first lead in four games against the Flyers.

Lemieux scored at 11:26 of the second period, skating down the slot and shooting into the inside of the right post. The puck bounced into the back of goalie Bob Froese and trickled over the goal line.

But the 1-0 lead lasted only 54 seconds. This time, Meloche was napping as Craven knocked the puck off the "Havoline Supreme" sign in the left corner of the Pens' zone and onto the stick of right winger Dave Brown.

Brown backhanded the puck through Meloche's legs for his fourth goal of the season and the only other score of the session.

"Our team wanted this game badly," Keenan said. "They showed it after they had a mediocre second period. Pittsburgh is vastly improved, and it came out hard in that period, especially with the goaltending supporting it. But we came back."

But during a holding penalty on Pens' winger Willy Lindstrom, Ilkka Sinisalo scored his 18th goal for a 2-1 Philadelphia lead 6:06 into the third period.

Rookie center Pelle Eklund set up the play, taking a loose puck in the Pens' zone and sending it to Sinisalo at the right circle. Sinisalo had an easy shot over Meloche, who was out of position.

But the Flyers hurt themselves with an own-goal at 12:10. It happened when left winger Terry Ruskowski centered the puck from behind the Flyers' net.

Attempting to clear the goalmouth, Flyers' defenseman Doug Crossman knocked the puck past Froese. Ruskowski was credited with his 12th goal, and the score was tied 2-2.

Neither team scored for the balance of regulation, with Flyers defenseman Brad Marsh falling in front of the goal and making the biggest saves against right winger Mike Blaisdell and Ruskowski after Froese had fallen out of position at 14:38.

"I guess we were lucky as well," Keenan said. "You have to have big plays like that when the offensive teams are getting chances. I'm taking about players like Lemieux, who's now recognized as one of the finest players in the game."

Finally, the Flyers' arrived in the customary five-minute, sudden-death overtime period, and "Mr. Overtime" took control.

"We've only had two overtime games," Craven said. "It's just fortunate that I've scored twice in them. The only way I can explain it is that I've been at the right place at the right time."